exhibition, Jester Film, collaborations, fellowship
February 21–July 2, 2023
Jester kicks off her program with a group exhibition and film program in Genk, and two partnerships in Belgium and abroad. Jester’s programme is shaped through long term engagements with international artists and collaborations with organizations worldwide. We offer space to all kinds of creatives on invitation and through open calls, and develop three fellowships: for curators, children, and lawyers. We believe in a more generous world, where making way for the unknown and taking care of each other are central. Therefore, Jester takes some of the principles of improv acting as the base for her program and organization: be courageous; listen, truly listen; be accepting; trust – others, yourself and the unknown; be (in the) present.
Charming for the Revolution: March 11–July 2
Genk, C-mine 10 (Energy Building)
Jester’s first moment of sharing is Charming for the Revolution, an exhibition in which Carly Rose Bedford, Toon Fibbe, and Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz share installations and video works, all developed or adapted with the context of the space in mind. Charming for the Revolution examines our relationship to labour, history, economy, and materials. It gives platform to artists who persistently choose to view the world from another perspective and do not shy away from manipulating—magnifying, or on the contrary, disguising things. They temporarily transform Jester’s exhibition space into a theatrical situation, animated by a cast of vivid characters: Fibbe’s hyperbolic personification of Lady Credit (2023), whose sharp laughter echoes through the space, a critically-minded camp dandy from Boudry & Lorenz’s film Charming for the Revolution (2009), and Bedford’s inviting, sensual Pink Dune (2020). An extravagant and exaggerated, shapeshifting Curtain Piece (disobedient) (2023) by Boudry & Lorenz divides the room and frames the stage for this show.
Jester Film: April 8, 5–7pm
Genk, C-mine 10 (lesser hall)
In April, we will launch Jester Film, a recurring program of video installations, performances, script readings, presentations of work in progress, and other formats that highlight specific filmmaking practices. Following the live event in Genk, the films will be presented online, on our website, for a month. Jester Film starts on April 8th with Maryam Tafakory, who presents several works and a live performance. Maryam Tafakory is an artist-filmmaker whose textual and filmic collages interweave poetry, documentary, archival, and found material.
Save the date for the following episodes on May 7 and June 11.
Transitions: March 11–14
Cinema Lumière, Maastricht
Transitions is a celebration of adventurous filmmaking in its many shapes. Taking place over six days in Maastricht (the Netherlands), it brings together boundary-defying artists and those who appreciate and support them. As one of the key partners, Jester curates the film installations Super Taboo by Su Hui-Yu and Hommage à… by Lili Dujourie, and a film program extending the themes covered in the exhibition Charming for the Revolution.
Indiscipline: April 1, 12–11pm
Grand Casino Knokke, Knokke-Heist
At the invitation of WIELS in Brussels, for their outstanding performance program Indiscipline, Jester will co-produce and present the performance Resetting Birds’ Memories by Kiluanji Kia Henda at Grand Casino Knokke. Resetting Birds’ Memories tells the story of Kinaxixi Square in the centre of Luanda. The square will come to life through the body of an actress. This square symbolizes the violent past, with successive rulers placing monuments to themselves on it, glorifying their ideologies. Kia Henda reveals the relationship between pre-colonial Angola and the present-day nostalgic view of that era. The performance has a political layer, but is not a literal illustration of this history. Rather, the poetry of this work invites to reflect on the perpetual changing world. Changes that are often represented through monuments in public space. Music by Satch Hoyt. This performance was commissioned by International Film Festival Rotterdam, curated by Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg and Peter van Hoof but due to covid, it has never been shown at IFFR.
Support
Jester is a non-profit with members. Jester is supported by the Flemish Community and the City of Genk. Additional funding comes from Mondriaan Fund, Pro Helvetia, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Belgium.
